


Get In The Mood

by SloanGreyMercyDeath



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Christmas, F/F, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-22 03:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13158765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SloanGreyMercyDeath/pseuds/SloanGreyMercyDeath
Summary: Root tries to get Shaw in the Christmas MoodMy Secret Santa gift for Sarahlouise312





	Get In The Mood

Shaw groaned and burrowed deeper into the bed. The wind blew hard against the windows and she wasn’t ready to venture out into the freezing, New York City air. Drawing her thick blankets over her head, she couldn’t help but notice it was much colder than it should be. Root had kept her up late last night, trying to convince her to take a carriage ride through Central Park.

They’d ended up arguing, like usual. Then, they’d had sex, like usual. Shaw pulled her legs up against her chest. Exhausted, she’d barely been able to put her sweatpants on last night before falling asleep. Root’s cold hands had buried themselves inside the warm, fleece pants, stealing Shaw’s warmth all night. Maybe Shaw just hadn’t recovered yet.

She poked her toes into the air and withdrew them immediately. It felt like the cold wind was inside the apartment. Bear sighed loudly at her back, pushing his nose under her shirt.

“Stop,” she muttered, her words slurred with sleep. Bear nudged his nose against her again and she rolled over. “Bear…I’m sleeping.”

She reached an arm over him, feeling for Root, but the other side of the bed was cold. And wet. Shaw sat up, her blankets sliding into her lap. Her eyes scrunched together as she stretched, her shirt riding up and exposing her stomach to the freezing air.

Bear jumped over her, jostling the bed and barking loudly. Shaw groaned and looked across the room at the windows. The large windows were all open, snow blowing into the room.

“What the fuck?” she asked the empty room, pushing the blankets off and climbing out of bed. “Fucking Root.”

Crossing the room as quickly as she could, Shaw slammed the windows shut. She’d only been out of bed for a minute, but her arms and toes were already freezing. Bear watched her cross the room again, jogging around the bed and stopping in front of the closet.

“What is happening?”

Shaw stared at the empty closet. Her entire wardrobe was missing, all five shirts, three pants, and four coats. Even her boots were missing. The only thing hanging in the closet was a large red robe, a pair of thick socks peeking out of a pocket.

Shaw squinted, trying to piece together what Root was up to. Her mind was still foggy with sleep, though, and her toes were beginning to go numb, so she just growled and yanked the robe off of its hanger. Sliding her arms through the sleeves and tying the large belt around her waist, she glared at Bear.

“You just let her do this?” she snapped at him. His tongue lolled out of his mouth and Shaw rolled her eyes. “You’re a big traitor. I hope you’re happy.”

Bear’s ears perked up and he ran out of the room before Shaw could finish pulling her socks on. Root must already be awake. If the indoor snow and missing clothing weren’t enough, Root being awake before 2pm was a sure sign that something was going on. Shaw adjusted her robe and headed into the living room.

She and Root had moved in together after Samaritan went down. That first phone call after she’d gotten Bear from Fusco had set the world right again. Root was alive and the Machine was fine. Now, their biggest threat was Fusco emptying their fridge or Root falling asleep at her desk too many nights in a row.

Shaw was enjoying the chance for them to just cause trouble and have sex in dangerous places, but she could feel herself growing restless. Numbers didn’t come as frequently as they used to and Shaw hadn’t punched someone in days. It used to be that she’d punch someone several times a day.

“Stop!”

Shaw froze in the doorway. Root stood in the living room, arms stretched toward her and eyes wide. Rushing towards her, Root grinned. She was wearing a matching robe; it was the same bright red, but too short for her and her fuzzy Christmas socks peeked out from the bottom.

“Mistletoe!” Root laughed, putting her hands on Shaw’s shoulders. “We have to kiss!”

“What?” Shaw asked, looking up. Sure enough, a small sprig of mistletoe was hanging above them, haphazardly taped to the doorway. “Isn’t that a Christmas thing?”

Root’s grin faltered for a moment. “…It is Christmas.”

“It is?” Shaw frowned and shrugged. “I didn’t realize.”

“Oh,” Root sighed, pouting. “I guess that means you didn’t get me a gift. That’s alright! I got you some gifts that are for…” Root winked, her face scrunching to the side, “…both of us.”

Rolling her eyes, Shaw pushed Root’s hands off her shoulders. “Just kiss me so I can eat.”

Root pressed their lips together, running her hands over Shaw’s robe. Her fingers gripped the soft wool as she pulled away.

“Come on,” Root said, slowly walking backwards, leading Shaw further into the living room, “There’s cocoa and cinnamon rolls!”

Shaw tried to move away from Root and head to the kitchen, but Root kept a firm grip. She struggled for a moment, but Root wouldn’t let her go. Turning away from the kitchen, Root lead her towards the couch.

“Get off of me!” Shaw growled, pushing hard on Root’s hands, knocking them away. She ignored Root’s frown as she went straight for the cinnamon rolls on the kitchen table. “Do you want one?”

“Sure,” Root said from behind her, “and cocoa.”

Shaw heard the couch rustle as Root sat down and decided to ignore how dejected Root sounded. The cocoa sat in a large, porcelain pitcher, still steaming. She wondered where Root had stolen this from, because matching mugs existed, Shaw needed them.

Bear tangled himself in her legs as she poured two cups out for them. Thankfully, Root shared her belief that hot chocolate should be made with milk, whole milk, and not with water. Quickly grabbing the tray of cinnamon rolls, Shaw took it all over to Root, carefully balancing it in her arms.

“Take this,” Shaw demanded, waiting for Root to take the tray of cinnamon rolls before sitting down. “Thanks for breakfast.”

Root shrugged and put the tray down on the table. “No problem. I just bought a roll.”

Shaw smirked as she handed Root’s mug over. Bear settled on her feet. “Good. I won’t have to worry about poisoning.”

Instead of laughing like she normally would, Root just sipped her mug, her eyes sliding to the television where a Christmas movie played on mute. Great, Shaw thought, now Root was upset. She set her mug down on the coffee table.

“Root, don’t be upset. I’ll buy you a present later.” Shaw reached for a cinnamon roll, glancing at Root. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” Root tried to smile, “really. Just eat.”

Shaw ripped took a large bite of her pastry, keeping her eyes on Root. Something was up and she couldn’t figure it out. Root had so many feelings sometimes. Sure, it was Christmas and Shaw knew that was important, but she didn’t think Root would take it seriously. She stuffed the last of the roll in her mouth, glaring at Root. Root loved the kitschy stuff, but did she really care about Christmas? Root just sipped her cocoa and kept her eyes on the television.

“Stop staring, Shaw,” Root smiled. “It’s rude.”

Swallowing painfully, Shaw rolled her eyes. “Seriously, why are you grumpy? I’m in the robe. I’m eating the food. It’s Christmas.”

“It’s not a big deal. I was just excited to celebrate with you and you didn’t even know it was Christmas.”

“I know now,” Shaw offered. “What’s on your list of things to do?”

“Well,” Root started, smiling again, “I wanted to go ice skating!”

Shaw scoffed. “Hard pass. It’s fucking freezing outside.”

Root slammed her mug onto the table and stood up, her robe swinging around her ankles. She glared down at Shaw. “If you aren’t going to take this seriously, then there’s no point! This is my first Christmas with someone I love and no one’s in danger and you’re ruining it!”

Shaw watched as Root stormed off, crossing the living room in a few long strides. The bedroom door slammed and she was left alone with Bear. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that this Christmas in particular might be special. It was true – there was no immediate emergency and she and Root were ‘dating’ for real.

Shaw still had a hard time with that. They were living together, but Root was a mess. She had so many possessions and Shaw had almost none. Root was a mess and Shaw was neat. Shaw was a morning person, Root slept in. Adjusting to each other had been a journey.

She took a sip of her cocoa and nudged Bear off her feet.

“Alright, Bear,” Shaw sighed, standing, “we’ve got some work to do.”

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Root opened the bedroom door a few hours later. She’d spent some time talking to the machine and trying to lower her expectations. Normally, Shaw’s unbothered attitude was what Root loved about her. Maybe Root had tried to do too much their first Christmas. She should have started off small.

Coming into the living room to apologize to Shaw, she was surprised to see it empty. Shaw was gone, her mug still on the coffee table. Root frowned. She hadn’t expected to be alone; Shaw usually just sulked after their fights and then they had sex. Where could she be?

“Where is she?” Root asked the Machine as she moved to the kitchen. “Did you give you a number?”

The Machine didn’t respond, and Root sighed. Well, if Shaw was gone and so mad at her the Machine wasn’t talking about it, Root was going to enjoy the hot chocolate by herself. She was pouring a mug when the Machine told her there was someone at the door.

“Who is it?” Root asked, but the Machine wouldn’t tell her. Root started for the door. “Why are you being weird?”

Peeking into the peephole, Root frowned. A large group of children in robes were standing outside of her door. The Machine suggested letting them in, but Root shook her head.

“There are two things I refuse to trust,” Root said, “men and children. They can stay outside.”

On the other side of the door, a dog barked loudly. Groaning, Root bumped her head on the door. That was Bear’s bark. These children were with him.

“Alright,” Root sighed, “I’ll let them in.”

She opened the door and Bear trotted into the apartment, stopping in front of her. Around his neck was a thick belt, heavy with bells. Root squatted down to scratch his ears, keeping an eye on the group of children. With the door open, she could see they were a choir.

“Who sent you here, boy?” she asked Bear. Noticing a piece of paper tied to his collar, she removed it and stood up. “Sorry for being an asshole. Don’t say that word in front of the children. Just tell them to sing like fucking paid them to. Don’t say that word either.”

Root glanced up at the choir to see them grinning, realizing she’d read all the curse words out loud.

“It’s ok,” said one of the girls in front, “the scary lady cursed in front of us, too.”

Laughing, Root shrugged and put the paper into the pocket of her robe. She gestured vaguely.

“Uh, sing. I guess. Please.”

The girl who had spoken stepped forward and turned around, lifting her hands to conduct the other children. They began to sing a beautiful rendition of O Come All Ye Faithful. Root could hear doors opening down the hall and knew Shaw would be mad the neighbors knew something about them, but Root couldn’t bring herself to care.

The children’s choir was wonderful, and Root teared up a little bit; this was so unlike something Shaw would do, Root couldn’t believe it. Bear sat next to her and she reached down to pet his head as the children sang. Maybe Shaw had left to do Christmas things!

The song ended, and the lead girl turned back around, smiling. She reached into her robe and pulled out another note.

“We only got paid for one song, but the scary lady wanted us to tell you to change before you did what the note said.”

Root opened the letter and read it out loud. “Come outside as fast as you can. Put on a coat. It’s fucking freezing. Don’t say that word in front of the children…” Root looked up again. “Why did she tell you to tell me to change? She said it in the letter.”

The girl shrugged, and the choir started walking down the hall. Root closed the door behind them and hurried into the bedroom to change. The Machine gave her weather statistics as she pulled a box of clothes out from under the bed. She’d stashed it there this morning while Shaw was sleeping; that woman slept like the dead.

Once she was appropriately warm, Root hurried out of the apartment, Bear at her heels. Their neighbors had disappeared back into their apartments and she made it to the elevator without running into anyone. As she waited for it to arrive, she wondered what Shaw was up to.

The children’s choir had been a nice surprised. Now, Root was excited to see what else was in store. Had Shaw planned a whole evening? The elevator doors opened and she stepped inside. The Machine still wouldn’t tell her what was going on, so she just bounced on her toes, too excited to stay still.

The elevator doors open, letting Root and Bear out into the lobby. They crossed the room as fast as they could and burst out into the cold, winter air. In front of them, in the street, was a large horse-drawn carriage. The carriage was white and red, with string lights wrapped around the outside. Even the horse had a large wreath around its neck.

The driver turned to look at them, a top hat perched on his head. “Root? Your scary girlfriend hired me to take you to Central Park.”

Root grinned and nodded. “That’s me! She’s mine!”

“Well, get in then,” the driver scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I have other places to be.”

His bad mood didn’t phase Root; she’d lived in NYC for years after all. She climbed into the carriage, turning to hold the door open for Bear. Once he was in the carriage, she closed the door and sat. A quick flick of the reins and the carriage started towards the park.

The ride to the park was short, but it was lovely. The whole city had been transformed for Christmas. String lights hung on all the trees and garlands were wrapped around the light posts. Root drank it in with wide eyes. She’d see it all, of course, but now that she knew Shaw was at the end of this ride, the lights seemed to shine brighter.

Bear laid his chin on her knee and she pet him slowly. Shaw was hard to read sometimes, almost always really, but sometimes she really nailed it. Sure, she’d had to make Root angry to get the message, but she seemed to be recovering well.

The carriage slowed to a stop next to the park and the driver looked over his shoulder at her.

“Get out. We’re here.”

Root rolled her eyes and stepped around Bear to climb out of the carriage. Before she could get her bearings, he dashed into the woods, leaving her behind.

“Bear!” Root called, racing after him. “Bear!”

She chased him through the park, worried that something was going to happen to him and Shaw would murder her. As they got further into the park, Root noticed lights up ahead and the several voices floated towards her.

Breaking through some bushes, Root found herself in a clearing. A long picnic table had been set up and there were around 50 people sitting at the table. She spotted a bright, red robe and grinner. Shaw turned around when Bear nudged her.

Spotting Root, Shaw stood and stood up, stepping away from the picnic table and walking over to Root. She rolled her eyes at Root’s grin.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Shaw mumbled, crossing her arms. “I should have remembered Christmas and I should have been more supportive.”

“It’s ok,” Root shrugged, “I should have told you. I know how you are.”

“True.” Shaw looked at all the people eating at the table. “If I don’t need to apologize, we can go.”

Root laughed and pushed her shoulder. “No! I want to stay. What is this?”

“Well,” Shaw started, shoving her hands into her robe pockets, “I am never going to appreciate Christmas, but I found a group of people who do. It’s some charity group that has a dinner for people without families. I don’t really know, but they’re nice enough.”

Root looked around, taking in the lights and the crowd. Shaw stood in front of her, shifting her weight and watching her carefully. Reaching out to cup Shaw’s face in her hands, Root leaned forward to kiss her.

“I love it,” Root whispered against Shaw’s lips. “It’s beautiful.”

“You’re beautiful,” Shaw whispered back. Her entire body tensed and she pushed Root away. “Disgusting. Go sit down and eat your damn Christmas feast. I hate you.”

Root laughed, but let Shaw push her to the table. It really was a good-looking dinner. They sat down as the other diners started passing around the food. Even if the day hadn’t turned out the way Root had planned, this was a nice way to spend Christmas evening. Maybe after this, she and Shaw could go back to the apartment and celebrate the end of their fight.

“You know,” Shaw said, leaning over to speak into Root’s ear, “we sort of have a post-fight tradition.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” Shaw confirmed, taking a bowl of mashed potatoes from the older woman sitting next to her, “and I do believe you mentioned certain…presents? For the both of us?”

Root grinned and watched as Shaw scooped mashed potatoes on her plate, then turned and served Root, too. This was the best Christmas ever.


End file.
